July 30 (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters said on
Tuesday that second-quarter revenue rose 2 percent as gains at
its legal and accounting businesses helped offset weakness in
the financial division, mainly in Europe.

The global news and information company reaffirmed its
forecast for all of 2013 of revenue rising in the low single
digits with an underlying operating profit margin between 16.5
and 17.5 percent.

Revenue from Legal, which includes WestlawNext, increased 5
percent to $846 million lifted by new products aimed at helping
law firms manage litigation and their business. Tax & Accounting
revenue rose 7 percent to $288 million.

"Everything that is in our control remains on track," Chief
Executive James Smith told Reuters. "We expect the second half
to remain better than the first half."

He said the trends continue to remain positive but added:
"Unfortunately, so do the challenges facing the financial
industry as a whole and particularly in Europe."

Banks, especially those in Europe, are still cutting costs.
Thomson Reuters has been making progress in Asia and Japan,
where net sales for its financial division have turned positive
in the second quarter. The Americas has also improved.

Smith has previously said he expects net sales at the
Financial & Risk division to turn positive in the second half of
this year. Net sales -- an important metric because it points to
future revenue -- strip out cancellations and lag revenue by
about 12 months.
Continued...